IPC-HFW5231E-Z12 LPR from 137 feet

JacobBrooks

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I'll get my steps in today and do some counting. Thanks for the tips!
 

JacobBrooks

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Ok, so I've been recording at day and night for a few weeks now. I would say that the daytime is really well dialed in. I did move my camera to a new position to get closer to the plates. Now I'm at about 110 feet.

I'm still having a little trouble at night. I would say that I can read almost 90% of the plates by eye, if I step through the frames 1 by 1. Feeding them to PlateRecognizer is a different story.

I'm using a secondary IR illuminator and at night the plates light up really well. But I'm struggling with headlights and tail lights, even with HLC up to 100.

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Laserray

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Ok, so I've been recording at day and night for a few weeks now. I would say that the daytime is really well dialed in. I did move my camera to a new position to get closer to the plates. Now I'm at about 110 feet.

I'm still having a little trouble at night. I would say that I can read almost 90% of the plates by eye, if I step through the frames 1 by 1. Feeding them to PlateRecognizer is a different story.

I'm using a secondary IR illuminator and at night the plates light up really well. But I'm struggling with headlights and tail lights, even with HLC up to 100.

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Way too much contrast, that's why the bright headlights. 60% would be better
IMHO - set gain 40-50 (tweak form there)
I did post a setup procedure in my speed detector hardware post, but you are almost there. Good job!
 

67RS427

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Just curious, what's the max distance some of you guys are running for LPR and getting clear picture? I have one camera set up right now at 130' or so but off angle. I'm getting pretty good shots so far 90% of the time. I need to cover my street going to opposite direction and have a choice to run another one at 140' or so at the same off angle or try to run it almost dead on at the stop sign at the end of the street but that's closer to 200'-250'... Would I be able to get anything at that distance? I don't think I would have to rely on the IR since there is a street light down that way. So, 45 degree angle at 140' again or 0 degree angle but 200'+? Thanks!
 

bigredfish

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Both tough shots.
200-250 is stretching the limits and I think you’ll also have focus issues as you’ll have to be at max zoom. Also I wouldn’t depend on a street light, that would mean no IR and dependent on visible light.
 

crc2004

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Ok, so I've been recording at day and night for a few weeks now. I would say that the daytime is really well dialed in. I did move my camera to a new position to get closer to the plates. Now I'm at about 110 feet.

I'm still having a little trouble at night. I would say that I can read almost 90% of the plates by eye, if I step through the frames 1 by 1. Feeding them to PlateRecognizer is a different story.

I'm using a secondary IR illuminator and at night the plates light up really well. But I'm struggling with headlights and tail lights, even with HLC up to 100.
@JacobBrooks Disable the secondary IR illuminator and give this a try:
Screen Shot 2020-05-09 at 9.46.58 AM.png Screen Shot 2020-05-09 at 9.46.46 AM.png Screen Shot 2020-05-09 at 9.46.34 AM.png Screen Shot 2020-05-09 at 9.46.16 AM.png Screen Shot 2020-05-09 at 9.46.04 AM.png Screen Shot 2020-05-09 at 9.45.48 AM.png
 

wittaj

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Just curious, what's the max distance some of you guys are running for LPR and getting clear picture? I have one camera set up right now at 130' or so but off angle. I'm getting pretty good shots so far 90% of the time. I need to cover my street going to opposite direction and have a choice to run another one at 140' or so at the same off angle or try to run it almost dead on at the stop sign at the end of the street but that's closer to 200'-250'... Would I be able to get anything at that distance? I don't think I would have to rely on the IR since there is a street light down that way. So, 45 degree angle at 140' again or 0 degree angle but 200'+? Thanks!
Mine is around that 45 degree angle and I could get 200 feet - but at night the image wasn't enough that I felt was comfortable. You could make out the plates but there would be some "interpretation" on some letters or numbers. I was getting about 85% that were identifiable but the rest were either not at all or an educated guess. Once I got a neighbor further down to get a LPR, I was able to back mine down to 140 feet or so with almost complete identification (except for the occasional really dirty or rusty plate or temp plate).

If the 200 foot would get you more vehicles, then it is worth a test. Mine was at 200 feet to catch a side street as well, but with the neighbor I now don't need to get that street. If you would get the same amount regardless of difference, then almost always go for the shorter distance.
 

ilrider78

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So I finally mounted my two LPR cams, one Z12 and one Z12E, on the new house. Both were purchased through @EMPIRETECANDY

The settings from the original post were great starting points. As a result the daytime shots look great but I feel I can improve on my night captures. Although I would have to say the Z12E looks a little better even though settings are identical. According to Google, distance is right around 100 ft and zoom is about 75-80%.

Both camera settings are:
B/W
IR set to 100
Exposure settings are similar to the original post.
I haven't touched Picture settings or Backlight.

Attached are from the Z12. Any feedback would be appreciated.
 

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tibimakai

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ilrider78

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I have shutter at 1/1000, Gain at 10-48, Iris at 33, Grade at 33. I also have an IR light to help.
It is the one, that has 15 degrees.
Thanks, I'll try those settings and see how the image looks.

Not sure if I need an additional illuminator, at least I would like to avoid adding one. The front of my house already looks crazy as is at night with the IR lights, lol. I also have turrets at the corners next the the LPR cams. Then at the one corner there's an SD49225T pointing at my front walkway. I think the IR from this helps a bit.
 

tibimakai

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Definitely you need HLC.
Believe me, I have a quite a few myself, including a 59225, LPR, 2x 5231. This is just at the front, on the side next to the LPR I have a cheap 4231R-Z, porch 5231-R-ZE and a 5442 as a bird house, Ring doorbell.
 

ilrider78

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@bigredfish You and @tibimakai have similar settings so I'll start with what you have and turn on HLC at 50, and see what happens. Or should I go higher?

Will report back when I get some examples. Not a lot of traffic on my street which is good.

Definitely you need HLC.
Believe me, I have a quite a few myself, including a 59225, LPR, 2x 5231. This is just at the front, on the side next to the LPR I have a cheap 4231R-Z, porch 5231-R-ZE and a 5442 as a bird house, Ring doorbell.
Oh yeah, gotta have all the angle covered and each one serves a purpose. I went with a eufy doorbell with homebase to avoid the monthly fees. I'm happy with it.
 

Purduephotog

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I have a similar IR light as you, but mine was potted. I intended to replace all the lenses with 5 degree optics- but couldn't.

So right now I have a small 6 element one with 10 degree optics, and it doesn't have enough power.

Still waiting on the parts to keep building a true IR power house. I'm dumbfounded this stuff is so hard to get.
 

tibimakai

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My light definitely makes a difference, but I want more.
I have purchased some LEDs + lenses, and some power source, but it is very hard to buy all the right components. I will have to come up with some weatherproof housing as well.
At least I'm experimenting with this setup. Not going overboard, just trying out some 5W LEDs.
 

Purduephotog

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My light definitely makes a difference, but I want more.
I have purchased some LEDs + lenses, and some power source, but it is very hard to buy all the right components. I will have to come up with some weatherproof housing as well.
At least I'm experimenting with this setup. Not going overboard, just trying out some 5W LEDs.
Indeed. I have a bunch of the quad LEDs on 20mm stars, and I'll be putting it into a nice little housing. My guess is though it won't be enough. So what I intend on doing is taking a 6 up housing, getting a new MCPCB, and reflowing 6x of the quad LEDs. I'll then use a converter to drop/regulate it down.

I did put a 10W LED into a nice egg light- and it's very projective, but it's too focused. So I need to try and get a spacer in there to give it a go.

I also need to get ordered another pair of LED arrays to try. Unfortunately, even in quarantine, not a lot of time and my place looks like **** messes.
 
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